AMERICAN AG-RICfJLTUEIST. 
[March, 
88 
Seetls i'roaaa tlie AgTriesiltattral iSJ5e= 
partuaeiit.—“ J. II. -F.," Colony, Mo. The Depart¬ 
ment sei*3b out seeds, good, had, and indifferent, osten¬ 
sibly for trial. Write to the Commissioner. We pay 
those people at Washington to serve us, and you have as 
much' right as any one to make known your wants. 
TTBaixt 33&rsa IPIasa.—“ J. H. B.,” Princeton, 
N. J., asks for more information about the plan of barn 
in the December Agriculturist, which he thinks worth 
ten years’ subscription to the paper. The roof of the 
root-house should be arched with stone and covered with 
cement and two feet of earth. The basement wall should 
b'e eight feet high and two feet thick. The hight of the 
barn should depend on the size of the floor. For a barn 
of 50 feet square, the model from which the plan was 
taken, the posts should be 20 feet. The plan is drawn to 
scale, the whole being 50 feet square. 
—“ O. C. S.,” Milton, Ky. You prob¬ 
ably refer to the White Grub, the larva of the May-bug, as 
injuring your corn. We know of nothing that will help 
you, save employing children to follow the plow and pick 
up all they see, and kill all the May-bugs you can. 
WIilli-Coolers.— “ D. T. Madison Co., 
N. Y., asks why milk-coolers 25 inches high and 13 inches 
in diameter, -which cost but a trifle more than those 8 
inches in diameter and holding 2!4 times as much, are not 
as good as the smaller ones for dairy use.—The advan¬ 
tage gained by having the deep narrow coolers is that the 
milk is cooled rapidly; this advantage -would be propor¬ 
tionately sacrificed by increasing the diameter of the 
coolers, and the saving in cost would not compensate for 
the loss of utility. 
Mixing; Clay wstla Sait.dy ©oils.— 
“W. F. K.,” Mayport, Fla., wishes to improve his light j 
sandy soil by adding clay which he can procure at an 
easy distance; how shall he do it?—The cheapest way 
would be to dig the clay when it is in such a condition of 
moisture that it will crumble easily. Then haul it on to 
the sandy soil and spread at once. A few plowings will 
mix it thoroughly with the sand. A wagon-load of about 
a cubic yard per square rod would add a little over an 
inch in depth, which would be little enough for once. 
BMttcrwRffa&inft-.—“ Domestic ” asks for 
the best work on butter-making;. Probably Flint’s Milch 
Cows and Dairy Farming contains as good a chapter on 
this subject as any book devoted to dairying. 
How Msicla «lo Hoa-ses Sleep ?—“ R. 
H. C.,” Omro, Wis., asks how much do horses sleep 
in 24 hours ? He thinks not more than one or two hours 
at most.—Horses probably require as much sleep as any 
other animal, and would sleep more than they do and bo 
better for it, if their stables were made comfortable and 
clean and kept free from flies. He suggests also that a 
horse when his work is over he permitted to refresh him¬ 
self with a. good roll, which would he very well if a clean 
piece of grass were handy for the purpose. 
Elk.—“ J. D.,” Kossuth Co., Iowa, would like 
to furnish ns or any of our friends with some tame elk 
two years old, for a valuable consideration. How this is 
business, and business being business, should be trams 
acted through the proper columns devoted to advertise¬ 
ments. Most likely a proper advertisement would at¬ 
tract the attention of persons who desire such animals, 
A ax aly sis ©1* VegctaT.xaes.~A gardener 
in Ct. asks where he can find the analyses of garden vege¬ 
tables generally, and says, “We wish it for the purpose 
of applying manure.”—There is a partial table in Wat¬ 
son’s Home Garden, but it will be about as much use in 
“applying manure” as the multiplication-table. Ma¬ 
nure, manure, and more manure, is what you want in 
market-gardening. 
JPxauag-jES « ApploTrecs.—“ P. C. ” 
Charleston, Mo. Wo can not tell the name of the fungus 
from your description. Wc would try the effect of a 
heavy dressing of lime. 
Ci"naxl»ex*x-Ees natal CDsxIoaxs.—“ W. L. R.” 
It is impossible to give the information you ask in one or 
Beveral articles. If you know nothing about the cultiva¬ 
tion of either of these you should get our Onion pamphlet, 
and White’s Cranberry Culture. See Book-list. If you have 
not a peat swamp that can be flowed at will, you had bet¬ 
ter not undertake cranberries. 
Msftjnrnre for ©we Acre.—“ H. N.,” New 
York, suggests the following manure for one acre of 
sandy loam, to bo planted .. carrots and parsnips, 
which was well manured iu 1871, and gave a good corn 
crop, and in 1872 a good oat crop without manure— 
namely, 10 loads of cow manure, 1 barrel bone-meal, 1 
barrel superphosphate, 1 barrel gypsum, 6 barrels of 
wood ashes, 1 bushel each salt and nitrate of soda, and 
20 bushels of potash.—We would recommend that the ni¬ 
trate of soda and the potash he dispensed with, and 
dependence to he placed on the rest of the manure. If the 
season should happen to ho dry, the potash would cer¬ 
tainly burn the crop, and at any rate it would be in 
excess of its needs. 
Cost ©S’ Keeping; Cows.— “ J. H. G.,” 
Eaton Co., Mich., asks what it would cost to keep 7 cows 
with hay at $10 a ton and oats and corn ground at one 
cent per pound, and if milk could he produced at 614 
cents per quart.—If the hay is cut, moistened, and mixed 
with 8 pounds of the meal per day, eighteen pounds 
will be sufficient. The feed would then cost 17 cents 
per day for a cow. All the milk produced above 3 
quarts a day would be profit, and a fair cow should give 
more than double that quantity when thus fed. 
B5©i-sxxsa«lsx twa-nss.—“ J. C. R.,” Texas. 
Bermuda grass propagates very freely by the root, and 
rarely or never bears seed. You must send for sods to 
some locality where it grows, ami if you only get a bit 
you will have no trouble in multiplying it. Wo have 
seen it growing in Bexar Co. 
Al»©aat Cox-aa=M®laErteir@.—F. S. Sanderson, 
Petersham, Mass., says a word or two about corn-plant¬ 
ers, as follows : Corn-planters should be made to plant 
two rows ; if larger, they are cumbrous. An improved two- 
row planter will drop fifteen acres per day. The planter 
should go on runners, which should make the furrow for 
the seed. The seed-boxes should he over the runners, 
with a tube to convey the seed to the ground. A pair of 
wheels following, cover the seed. The driver should ride, 
and operate the dropping apparatus by hand.—These 
suggestions are valuable to those interested. 
]Pex*c*§ies’fl>ji M©x*(ses Isa S’eaxsasyl- 
vasiia.—“ Subscriber,” Allentown, Pa., sends us a good 
word for the Percheron horse. After throe years’ trial he 
has found them well adapted to the rough, hilly roads of 
Eastern Pennsylvania, and for heavy work both on the 
road and farm. 
Cattle fox” West©a*ax IPeEs-sisylvRsaia. 
—“E. C. J.,” Clinton, Pa., asks which is the best breed of 
cattle for Western Pennsylvania, Durham or Devon.— 
Devon, by all means; Durham cattle would be very 
much out of place on hilly ground or on thin pastures, 
while the Devons are at home in such a country. 
Ea.ii-t,?.x»W©rB!as Ieb. Spots. — “ R. M.,” 
Ga. Lime-water will destroy worms without injury to 
most plants. The lime-water must be perfectly clear. 
Sawdsast iaa tlae C«S8r«less.—“ E. M. C.” 
“Well-rotted sawdust” will be useful for vegetables in 
a sandy loam, provided it is well-rotted, which is very 
rarely the.case. Sawdust imdecayecl will be worse than 
useless on such soils. 
Caliked !£©©£„—■-The present season is pro¬ 
ductive of frequent injuries to the foot from calking. 
If this is not properly treated, the hoof often becomes 
badly diseased in consequence. The wound should ho 
well washed with warm'water, a plug of lint saturated 
with “ Friar’s Balsam ” (Compound Tincture of Benzoin) 
placed over it, and bound with a strip of cloth. If the 
wound suppurates, the plug of linj, and balsam should 
be kept in it until the suppuration is stopped. This is 
especially for the benefit of G, P., Buffalo. 
Ai5©Mt PoSasia. — ■“ A Subscriber,” Port By¬ 
ron, wants some information about potash.—Potash iB a 
staple article of trade, and is salable in all the large cities. 
It is refined, and made into pcarlash and saleratus. The 
wood-ashes require to he leached; the lyo is boiled down 
until the salts are deposited ; they are then dipped into 
another kettle and melted ; when the cake is cool, it is 
broken up and packed into barrels for market. The 
Agriculturist of September, 1872, contained an account 
of the manufacture, with engravings, showing tho meth¬ 
ods commonly in use. 
West !®©iiif.—And. F. Frantz, Lancaster, 
Pa., informs an “Inquirer” that appointments to the 
Academy at West Point are made from each Congres¬ 
sional district and by the representatives, of whom in¬ 
quiries may be made. 
See page ISO and Third Cover-page. 
Coi’si-StiaUxs.—“ E. C. J.,” Clinton, Pa., asks 
if the stalks of corn-fodder ore equal in value to the 
blades. — We believe they are. 
S®i*©x5.d. IFlesBa.—G. H. Allen desires to treat 
an old wound from a shoe-calk which is now filled with 
a growth of proud flesh which cracks and bleeds.—We 
would apply nn ointment of perfectly pure lard, finely 
powdered white sugar, and sulphate of copper, to tho 
proud flesh or fungus growth until a healthy sore appears, 
when it may be healed by a covering of lint steeped in 
the Compound Tincture of Benzoin. The foot should bo 
bandaged, and a leather cap be worn over the foot to pre¬ 
serve the wound from blows until it is healed. 
Sragas- from. Meloxas. —M. W. Wads¬ 
worth, of San Francisco, Cal., has published a small pam¬ 
phlet entitled “ Indigenous Sugars,” in which he pro¬ 
poses the cultivation of melons (both water and musk) 
as a source of syrup and sugar. Iu California the melons 
are much sweeter than with ub, and they have not a host 
of insects to contend with. However the project may 
result in the Pacific and Southern States, wc doubt if it 
will be found practicable at the East and North. 
Aoxsxsg' Colts.—“W. O. D., f> 
Elliota, asks, Will it hurt two-year-old mule colts to do 
light work, as harrowing in the spring, or to be ridden, 
by a man weighing 150 pounds ?—The light work will not 
hurt them, hut 150 pounds is too great a weight for a 
two-year-old to carry. 
Catalogues Received. 
The following list comprises the Catalogues of Nursery¬ 
men, Seedsmen, and Florists, which have been received 
during the present year: 
Nurserymen.— B. P. Hanan. Clark City Nursery, Clark 
City, Mo_Joseph W. Vestal, Cambridge City, Indiana. 
_Bronson, Hopkins & Co., Geneva, N.Y_J.E.Pierce, 
Climax, Mich., Small Fruits and Evergreens_Sweet & 
Morey, Dansville, N. Y... Win. Morton & Son, Deering, 
Me., Evergreens_Benjamin Reid & Co., Aberdeen, 
Scotland, Trade List of Nursery Stock... Wann, Ka- 
froth & Hoover, Vpganville and West Earl, Pa., Agents 
lor DiDgee, Conard & Co., General Nursery Stock_ 
Harvey Curtis, Owego, N. Y_Robert Douglass & Sons, 
Waukegan, Ill., Forest trees_Storrs, Harrison & Co., 
Painesville, Ohio. Chestnut Trees_A. Bryant, Jr., 
Princeton, Ill., Wholesale and Retail Price-List of Nur¬ 
sery Stock_George S. Haskell & Co., Chicago, Ill. 
Field, Garden, and Flower Seeds. 
Seedsmen .—Alfred Bridgeman & Son, 876 Broadway,N.Y. 
Henry A. Dreer, Philadelphia, Pa.. .James Fleming, N.Y. 
_Miller & Sievers, Sail Francisco, Cal., Californian 
and Australian Seeds, Bulbs, and Plants... .Henry Keller, 
Darmstadt, Germany, Tree and Grass Seeds_Hugh & 
Church, Knoxville, Tenn., Field Seeds_A. Bryant, Jr., 
Princeton, Ill., Fruit, Evergreen, and Forest Seeds_ 
Benjamin Reid & Co., Aberdeen, Scotland, Nursery and 
Grass Seeds_J. M. Thorburn & Co., New York.. 
Waldo F. Brown, Oxford, Ohio_W. R. Elliott, Pitts¬ 
burgh, Pa.. ..PeterHenderson & Co., N. Y. City, Seeds... 
Plant Seed Co., St. Louis, Mo., Catalogue and Farmer’s 
Almanac_O. Burras, North Fairfield, Ohio_James 
Vick, Rochester, N. Y_ Briggs Bros., Rochester, N. Y. 
.. .B. K. Bliss & Sons, N.Y., Flower and Vegetable Seeds. 
_Jas. J. H. Gregory, Marblehead, Mass., Garden Seeds. 
... II. Young, York, Pa., Flower and Vegetable Seeds_ 
Reeves & Simonson, N. Y., Garden and Flower Seeds. 
Florists. —Akgatiere, Lyons, France, Zonal Pelargoni¬ 
ums.. . J. B. Gnillot, Lyons, France, Roses.. .DcLiabaud, 
Lyons, France, New Roses....Damaizin, Lyons, France, 
Roses... . Levet, Lyons, Roses... .Duclier, Lyons, Roses. 
_Joseph Schwartz, Lyons, France, Roses_Peter 
Henderson, N. Y. C., Greenhouse Plants. .Miller & Hayes, 
Philadelphia, Pa., Roses. .Reeves & Simonson, New York 
City_A. P. Jones, Fond chi Lac, Wis., Greenhouse and 
Bedding Plants ...Bellevue Nursery, II. E. Cliitty, Supt., 
Paterson, N. J., Greenhouse and Bedding Plants. 
Miscellaneous Catalogues.— E. S. Lee & Co., Rochester, 
N. Y., Waters’s Improved Tree Primer_E. W. Clark, 
Springfield, Mass., Rustic Work. 
American Fish - Culturists' Association. 
The second annual meeting of this Association was 
held at the office of G. Shepard Page, No. 10 Warren 
street, February 11th, at 11 o’clock a.m. The occasion 
brought together a large number of fish-breeders and 
fish commissioners from all parts of the country. 
Several very interesting papers were presented, which, 
with the discussions accompanying them, occupied the 
whole day. The president, in his annual address, re¬ 
counted the marked events of the year in this new 
